


Just Jack.

by LadyKarasuNM



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Romance, Slight Hurt/Comfort, Supportive Gabe, Wingfic, social pressure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 17:22:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20261746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKarasuNM/pseuds/LadyKarasuNM
Summary: Jack thinks everything is too much. He just wants to be himself in a world where everybody expects him to be something else.





	Just Jack.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, people!   
This was something I had running though my mind since I saw the beautiful doodle comic of Toydreamer on twitter, and since we are all here in too deep this abyss hole of schmoop dads, well, I thought I could throw some words together and hope I make slight justice to the wonderful content she creates. You inspire us, Toy <3
> 
> https://twitter.com/Toydreamings/status/1160921748642000896 This is the comic I am referring.
> 
> Enjoy the unadulterated cuteness and wholesomness!

It had been a couple of really tough weeks. Between his superiors expectations on him, practically all of his battalion looking over to him for guidance like a roman eagle… Sometimes, it all became too much. Being the perfect sunshine leader, always smiling, feathers puffed proudly, with an encouraging word and pat on the back for his companions; the modelic soldier, ready for battle or speeches on behalf of his bosses… 

Sometimes, he just wanted to be Jack. 

But how? Everywhere he looked, there was someone looking at him like he was going to save the world twice before his morning coffee. Behind every corner, someone was waiting for advice on something, whether it was battle plans or personal matters.

So, he ran.

It hadn’t been exactly a conscious decision. One second he was reading some reports about some civilian damages from the war, and the next he was speeding through the corridors of the base. He couldn’t breathe. He needed to get out, to see the sky over his head and not just the grey from the base ceilings. His breathing was erratic, he could feel it, his heart pumping wildly inside his chest, threatening to burst out at any second. He needed out, and he needed it  _ now. _

Jack bolted through every door until he could feel the grass of the courtyard under his shoes. The moment he felt the cool outside air fill his lungs he spread his wings and started flying without worrying about who was looking or the birds that fled startled by his sudden presence. 

He ascended up, and up, and up, letting the wind clear his head, feeling how the sun’s heat burned away all the fear and anxiety down with everything else. But no matter how much he ascended, the crushing feeling of oppression, of expectations, of everything all the people down there looked for him to be, all that didn’t go away.

He couldn’t recall how many hours he stayed on flight, trying his hardest to go so up he wouldn’t be able to even see the base anymore, to see i that would make everything less real. It didn’t.

After hours his wings started to feel too tired to maintain him in the air, and he saw himself forced to land back on the base. He found a secluded roof outside of everyone’s view or knowledge. Or so he thought. 

As soon as he was back on firm land, tears started to fall freely from his eyes, like someone had opened a tap but had forgotten how to close it. His knees buckled from all the exertion and he found himself seated on the rooftop, crying his heart out. He couldn’t do it. It was too much. The weight was crushing him.

Jack was barely able to register a set of footsteps accessing the floor through the door that was around the corner he was hidden in, but the voice that accompanied them, calling him, he could recognise it anywhere. Gabriel. 

His first instinct was to close his wings like a protective shell. He couldn’t let Gabriel see him like that, completely undone, crying. He was a proud bird, shiny wings and even more radiant smile. That was what Gabriel expected of him, right?

“Jack? Jackie, are you there?” The voice sounded worried. Jack started wishing with all his might that Gabriel wouldn’t notice his feathery cocoon and left. But, apparently, it wasn’t his lucky day, since he could hear through his own wings how the footsteps got closer and a tender hard stroked his outside feathers. “Hey… Wanna talk about it?” His tone was soft, cautious. Another stroke. Jack could feel how his frame started to quiver under the touch, hugging his legs to stop the trembling. The touches stopped.

After a few minutes of no touches and absolute silence, Jack thought the other man had left, but just as he was starting to relax his frame to let the sunset light dry his face, two strong arms wrapped themselves around his frame, wings and all, an tenderly held him against a solid muscled chest. 

“Gabe?!” He squeaked, taken by surprise, feeling how a blush crept over his face due to the nose burying itself on his back feather plush. “Wha-What are you doing?!”

The arms squeezed a little tighter for a second, “Well, you didn’t seem to want to move… And I can’t sleep without my favorite pillow” He explained from behind, his voice nonchalant. 

The simple words stroke a chord inside him. His “pillow”, regardless of his state. He didn’t want a bright smile, nor had he left not finding it. He just wanted him. He just wanted Jack. 

Tentatively, he relied some of his weight on those arms, allowing himself to ease the tension he had been accumulating during his personal ordeal. Gabriel kept hugging him, stroking his feathers and nuzzling his nose on his soft plush. Just cuddling him. No pressure, no asking for anything. Nothing, just being there for him. 

Slowly, the wings started opening, revealing a red eyed Jack, with still tear tracks on his cheeks. Carefully, Gabriel coached him to face him so he could wipe them tenderly with his thumb, adding a soft kiss here and there, on his forehead, on his wing, on his knuckles. 

After what felt like an eternity and no time at all at the same time, he spoke again, “I won’t press on… On your own time, alright?” he said, looking directly into his blue eyes. Jack could only nood in understanding, falling again against Gabriel’s chest, this time face first, and hugging him loosely. 

Maybe he could do this. Maybe he could be the smiling perfect bird for everyone else, as long as he had his oasis, his Gabriel by his side. 

“Thank you, Gabe…”


End file.
